- 12 myths about how the Internet works
- Smartphone smackdown: Storm vs. iPhone
- IETF: Should we ignore the Kaminsky bug?
- Top 10 wicked cool algorithms
- How to recession-proof yourself
Reuters Group was able to bring its instant messaging system back online early Friday morning, after an outbreak of the Kelvir worm led the company to shut down the system for most of Thursday.
The London news and information provider detected the external worm on its network coming though a customer Internet portal mid-morning on Thursday and took the system down as a precaution, according to Reuters spokesman Johnny Weir. After insuring there were proper filters in place, the IM system was made operational again at 7 a.m. local time Friday, he said.
The Kelvir worm is designed to use Microsoft’s IM software as a means for disseminating malicious code. The variant that hit Reuters, W32/Kelvir-Re, was not unique to their IM system, called Reuters Messaging, Weir said.
No incidents of users being infected by the attack have been reported and Reuters' other services continued operating as normal, Weir said.
Reuters has its own IM application for the financial services industry which it developed to be interoperable with Microsoft's MSN Messenger. Reuters' IM system also works with AIM software from AOL. According to Weir, the problem only affected users on the Reuters system.
The Kelvir worm spreads by sending messages through the IM system to all of an infected user's contacts, encouraging the recipients to visit a Web page to download a file. New versions of both the Kelvir and Bropia worms have been actively attacking systems this year, especially within corporations, according to anti-virus software company Sophos.
Reuters has increasingly been connecting customers to its IM system and there are currently more than 60,000 active users, according to Weir.
Rss FeedRss Feed
| NetworkWorld, Inc. | About Network World, Inc. | Advertise | Careers | Contact us | Terms of Service/Privacy | Reprints and links | Partnerships | Press room | Subscribe to NW |
| IDG, Inc. | CIO | Computerworld | CSO | Demo | GamePro | Games.net | IDGconnect.com | IDG World Expo | Infoworld | JavaWorld.com | LinuxWorld.com | MacUser | Macworld | PC World | Playlistmag.com | The Industry Standard | IDG List Services | IDG TechNetwork |
 The Leader in Network Knowledge© 1994-2008 Network World, Inc. All rights reserved. |
Partner Content
Brilliantly simple security and control solutions for email, web and endpoint
www.sophos.com
Stopping data leakage
Learn how to exploit your current security investment to control the information that flows into, through and out of your network.
Download the white paper.
Why detection rates aren't enough
Evaluating endpoint security products is a time-consuming and daunting task. Learn the six critical questions you need to ask prospective vendors to get the right endpoint solution.
Download the white paper.
Applications: taking back control
Employees installing unauthorized applications is a growing threat to business security and productivity. Cost-effectively reduce this threat by integrating control into your malware protection.
Learn more today.
Comment